Field crowded in major congressional races

BATON ROUGE – There was a time when incumbency in major office was almost assurance of retaining office but that’s not the case in this year’s elections for some of Louisiana’s national office holders.

Every member of the state’s congressional delegation facing re-election this fall has opposition. For some, it’s formidable opposition.

U.S. Rep. Vance McAllister, R-Swartz, is facing nine challengers in his bid to retain his District 5 Congressional seat, including two who ran against him last November – Democratic Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo and Republican Public Service Commissioner Clyde Holloway of Forest Hill. They placed third and fourth in last year’s primary. State Sen. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, who led in the primary but lost in the general election, is not running this year.

McAllister says he welcomes all challengers but he says some are only running because “They smelled blood in the water” after he was caught by a surveillance camera kissing a staff member.

He said he admitted his mistake and is moving forward.

“We have a God of second chances,” and he is taking advantage of the “fantastic second chance to save my family. Am I the first Christian to ever make a mistake?”

The congressman has lost the support of the Robinson family of “Duck Dynasty” fame. A nephew of family patriarch Phil Robinson is running, so the family is funneling its public and financial support to help Zach Dasher, R-Calhoun.

Dasher also has Gov. Bobby Jindal’s fundraising and political consulting firms in his corner but he says he’s not the governor’s candidate, even though he echoes Jindal’s contention “the federal government has overstepped its bounds.”

“I have not met the governor. It’s hard to be his candidate when I haven’t met him,” he said.

Dasher said that when he announced his candidacy, McAllister “wasn’t running.”

Holloway, who qualified only a few minutes before the 4:30 p.m. Friday deadline, made it clear that he would not have entered the race if McAllister had no scandal.

“Last year, I thought Vance McAllister would be a congressman for 20 years,” he said, because incumbency is such a powerful tool. “Unless you do something wrong, you’re not likely to be beat. I was not happy with what happened with Vance and that’s my reason I’m running, period.”

With so many people in the race “22-to-25 percent puts you in a runoff,” Holloway said.

Mayo agreed with McAllister that they are still friends and said “I am not upset with Congressman McAllister.”

He said he’s running because he sees the opportunity to win, having placed third in last year’s primary and this time, he’s the only Democrat and the only black candidate in the race. Last year’s Democratic vote was split among Mayo, state Reps. Marcus Hunter of Monroe and Robert Johnson of Marksville, and former Rep. Weldon Russell of Amite.

After Mayo endorsed McAllister, the congressman, who trailed Riser in the primary 33,045 (31.97 percent) to 18,386 (17.79 percent), captured 60 percent of the vote in the runoff election.

The Republican vote also will be split among Ralph Abraham of Rayville, Harris Brown of Monroe, Jeff Guerriero of Monroe and Ed Tarpley of Alexandria.

Charles Saucier of Ponchatoula qualified as a Libertarian. Eliot Barron of New Orleans, which is outside of the district, is a Green Party member. Federal guidelines do not require a congressman to live in the district, only “inhabit” the state. “Inhabit” is not defined.

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, has drawn opposition from eight challengers, two of whom – U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, and retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness, R-Madisonville – have the most backing.

Cassidy has the full support and funding of the national and state Republican parties and Landrieu that of the Democratic Party. The two are spending large sums of money.

Maness

When Cassidy qualified, he was accompanied by supporters who protested Landrieu’s use of public funds to pay for charter flights to campaign events in Louisiana. They carried signs saying “Clout doesn’t fly coach.”

A group dressed as a flight crew, complete with uniforms bearing patches saying “Air Mary” parked a shiny black SUV in front of the secretary of state’s office where candidates qualified. A spokesman for the group is employed by the national Republican Party.

Landrieu said the improper payment was “an accounting error” that she has corrected by paying the charges with campaign funds and she has ordered an accounting of all travel expenditures for the entire time she has been in the Senate.

Maness called supporters to meet him Friday. About two dozen, most wearing yellow campaign T-shirts, chanted “Go Rob” as he entered.

When he qualified, Maness charged that Landrieu was not eligible to run because she does not live in the state. He asked Secretary of State Tom Schedler to investigate but Schedler does not have that authority.

State law says any challenge has to be filed within 10 days of qualifying with the district attorney’s office in the parish where the candidate claims as home.

The U.S. Constitution says of a Senate qualifications “No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be chosen.”

Again, “inhabitant” is not defined.

Meg Casper, spokeswoman for Schedler’s office, said the issue would have to be settled in court.

When asked, Maness was unclear as to whether he’s willing to take it to court.

Maness challenged Landrieu and Cassidy to debates. Landrieu has accepted several but Cassidy has not agreed to any debate.

Landrieu has four Democrats running against her – Wayne Ables of Breaux Bridge, Raymond Brown of New Orleans, Vallian Senegal of Opelousas and William Waymire Jr. of Gonzales. Thomas Clements of Lafayette is a Republican.

The 6th District seat, vacated by Cassidy’s challenging Landrieu, has drawn 13 candidates, most notably former Gov. Edwin Edwards, a convicted felon who can run for federal office but not state office.

The only Democrat with name recognition in the race, Edwards is expected to be in the runoff. But his ability to carry the predominately Republican district in the runoff has been questioned.

In the 3rd Congressional District, incumbent Charles Boustany is facing Bryan Barrilleaux, R-Lake Charles, who is taking no contributions and spending no money on his campaign, and Russell Richard of Lafayette, a no-party candidate.

U.S. Rep. John Fleming, R-Minden, will face two challengers in his bid to continue representing the 4th District. Randall Lord, a Libertarian from Shreveport and Democrat Justin Ansley of Bossier City qualified for the race.

Ansley, sporting a long beard and hair, piercings in his lower lip and ears, qualified wearing flip-flops, shorts and a Duck Dynasty T-shirt with the sleeves cut off. Asked why he was running against Fleming, he said “because I’m sick of the way it’s not working.”